Star Wars: Revelation on Zereana
by Tomulosity
Summary: The Confederacy's power has grown, and the future seems dark for the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic. Now, on the Planet of Zereana, Kenobi and Skywalker face yet another mission of war, and Anakin will face a horrifying truth...
1. Chapter 1

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far Far Away…

STAR WARS

Revelation on Zereana

It has been six months since the beginning of the Clone

Wars. Deaths among the Jedi Order grow more frequent, and

the cyborg general Grievous has been discovered on the

Separatist world of Hypori, adding an asset to the

Confederacy, and a threat to the Galactic Republic.

On the Mid-Rim world of Zereana, a world still loyal to the

Republic, a new Separatist base of operations has been

discovered. Recently promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight,

Anakin Skywalker has been sent, along with his former

master Obi-Wan Kenobi, to attempt to eradicate this

situation…

**Chapter one.**

The underground tunnels of Zereana were not what Anakin would have chosen for a mission location. It was dark, and far too damp for his liking. Even now, nearly eleven years since he had left his native planet, he still found it difficult to adjust to the moisture of worlds unlike Tatooine. _Odd how the Separatists chose this place to hide a base_. He thought. _Though it certainly does its job. _

Indeed it did. Anakin and his former Master had searched what felt like every inch of the planet's underground, and hadn't even found so much as a Separatist Battle Droid head, much less an entire base of operations. All Anakin wanted was to get back to Coruscant. Hard to believe how back before he had married Padme', he had wanted missions to last forever. Times had certainly changed since Geonosis.

But now here he was once again, on a mission. And not three days since Praesitlyn, when he had passed the trials and been made a Jedi knight.

Obi-Wan had gone to search in another direction, and Anakin was able to enjoy some time to do things his way, as a Jedi knight. Technically, as a newly promoted Jedi Master, Obi-Wan could still give him orders. But Anakin couldn't help but feel that Obi-Wan should ease up on it, since Anakin was no longer his student.

He sensed his former master's presence. "Found anything?" Obi-Wan asked. Anakin grinned. "If I had, I think I would have called you." He replied, gesturing toward their comlinks. "Besides, I probably wouldn't see anything even if it _was_ here. In this darkness, a Droideka could shoot me without me realizing."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "You'll never learn." He sighed. He then nonchalantly ignited his Lightsaber and cleanly cut a hole through the ground above them, thereby creating the needed light.

A short silence followed, and ended with a most uncomfortable Anakin abruptly changing the subject. "How did these tunnels get here anyway?" He asked gruffly.

A grinning Obi-Wan let the subject change slide. "Madame Nu said Zereanan miners often dug here, but left it alone after they discovered the Separatist base." Anakin shook his head. "They dug extremely far. I can't find a single…"

A jolt through his senses halted his speech. Obi-Wan seemed to sense it as well, for their Lightsabers ignited simultaneously.

A figure in pitch-black body armor sped towards them on a speeder bike that was equally darkly colored. Whoever it was, he was heavily armed and immediately began firing blaster bolts in the direction of the Jedi in rapid succession.

Lightsabers whirled and the bolts sped back toward their original owner, but this person was obviously extremely agile, for he made a perfectly timed forward flip off of his bike and landed back on completely unharmed.

Anakin leapt forward and clung to the back of the bike, still deflecting blaster shots. Ignoring shouts from Obi-Wan, Anakin tried to cut out the speeder bike's main engine, but tried in vain as blaster bolts poured forth from the black-armored stranger's WESTAR-40 blaster even more intensely. Anakin didn't have time to do anything but deflect, especially since the man's bike was still speeding through the tunnels of Zereana at full speed.

As the man reached into his pocket to reveal a thermal detonator, Anakin cursed his luck. _Definitely not good_. Anakin leapt off the bike, barely missing the thrown detonator. With speed only a Jedi could possibly posses, he sped from the tunnel. An instant later, half the tunnel collapsed from a massive explosion.

"I hope you have a _very _good reason for that." Obi-Wan's face was stone. Anakin thought it was obvious. "To find out who he is, and if he's working for the Separatists."

Obi-Wan sighed. "He attacked us didn't he? Are _we_ working for the Separatists?" Anakin didn't answer.

"No. Therefore, he logically is." Obi-Wan finished. "As for _who _he is, that is entirely inconsequential."

Anakin bristled at the rebuke. Hadn't he received enough lectures from his former Master when he was an Apprentice?

--

They searched for days, or at least that's what it felt like. _If we don't find anything soon, I'm going to steal a ship, jet back to Coruscant, and never leave. This whole mission is…_ Anakin's foul mood was interrupted by a comlink call from Obi-Wan. "Anakin? I think our search is over."

Anakin raced to see what had been found, and felt like shouting for joy. There below them was a massive cavern that housed an equally immense structure. Separatist Battle Droids poured forth by the hundreds, and STAPs patrolled the dirt ceiling. Obi-Wan smiled in satisfaction.

"It appears we've found our secret base."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

Obi-Wan was rather leery of entering a Separatist base, but he knew it had to be done. Countless battles on countless worlds had told him that a stealth mission was much more to his taste then a battle where Jedi died, tunics became ripped and bloodied, and he had to be reminded once again, of how terrible war was.

The trick was to enter the base _without_ starting a battle where these things happened. And to do that you had to… "Enter with caution." He told Anakin. Anakin sighed. "Yes Master." He replied in a frustrated tone.

Obi-Wan didn't want to harass Anakin now that he was a Jedi Knight, but-especially after the stunt Anakin had pulled earlier-couldn't help but feel that if he didn't remind him, Anakin would rush in, Lightsaber blazing, and start a fight.

And a fight would cause the Separatists to call for reinforcements. And that would cause the _Jedi_ to call for reinforcements. And _that _would become a recreation of the battle of Geonosis, of the battle of Jabiim.

And Obi-Wan _really _wasn't in the mood for that at the moment.

"We'll go in from the top." He instructed. Anakin nodded. _Good_. Obi-Wan thought relieved. _He isn't resisting_.

He leapt atop the base without making a sound, and being almost invisible. He had to be, if he was going to avoid all those STAPs flying around. He pressed his ear to the surface of the structure's ceiling. Battle Droids. Shouldn't be a problem. Cutting through the top, he leapt down into a room filled with various computers, and the droids.

Obi-Wan always felt a spark of irritation when up against these machines. Whenever there was any Separatist activity whatsoever, there they were. It might be somewhat less irritating if they were a bit more difficult to destroy, but it was inconceivably effortless to reduce them to scrap metal.

_Although_, He supposed, _If they were all Droidekas, I probably wouldn't be alive today. _As he deflected and sliced, he had another thought. _Where is Anakin_?

Almost as soon as the remains of the last Battle Droid hit the floor, Anakin leapt in from the hole in the ceiling. "Sorry I'm late." He said grinning. "Couldn't resist chopping up a few STAPs on the way in. Don't worry, nobody saw." Obi-Wan sighed, but couldn't resist a smile.

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Quietly, the two Jedi made their way through the Separatist base. "Remember, we are _only _going to disable the machines that build the droids." Obi-Wan whispered, purposely putting emphasis on 'only'.

"That would be a lot easier if Artoo were here." Anakin grumbled in response. They had left R2-D2 back at the docking bay because the Astromech would have been unable to journey through the tunnels of Zereana with his droid body.

Obi-Wan shook his head in wonder. To him, it was incredible that Anakin had such a fondness for the little Astromech. Then again, Anakin had always been at ease with technology. Personally, Obi-Wan preferred living creatures.

They halted in front of a locked door. Obi-Wan had found on many occasions that Lightsabers were quite handy in situations such as this. More computers and droids, but this room had Nemodians as well.

_Amusing creatures, Nemodians._ Obi-Wan thought with a slight smirk. _All ego, almost no brain whatsoever._ It was a wonder the Separatists got anything done properly, with these beings as staff.

But Obi-Wan had no time to reflect on this, for one had noticed them.

"Yah! Jedi! Blast them now!" The Nemodian cried. The Jedi easily destroyed the droids, and 'persuaded' the Nemodians into thinking that they had never seen them. Obi-Wan was very thankful for the Force's control over the unintelligent.

Suddenly, blaster fire blasted erupted from the opposite end of the room, and Obi-Wan recognized the black-armored warrior who had attacked them in the tunnels. Three Droidekas served as his backup.

Obi-Wan deflected shots from the Droidekas while Anakin went for the armored man, who had blasted a hole in the ceiling and jumped through it. Anakin leapt upward in pursuit, and was quickly hidden from view.

_Oh no. _Obi-Wan thought. _He'll get seen for sure. _He desperately hoped the Separatists wouldn't call for backup.

For now though, he had to stay focused on the Destroyer Droids. He swiftly ran to the entryway and hid directly to the right of it. The Droidekas rolled in pursuit, thus temporarily shutting off their deflector shields. Therefore, Obi-Wan was able to slice each one to pieces from his position by the entrance.

He quickly leapt through the hole the stranger had created, and scanned the area for Anakin. There. In the tunnel again, and clinging to the speeder bike again as well.

Obi-Wan sighed. No matter how concerned he was for his former apprentice, the mission had to come first. As Obi-Wan prepared to enter the base again, he wondered if Anakin would be able to subdue the mysterious man in black.

_May the Force be with him_.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: It has been revealed by the Star Wars website that the upcoming Clone Wars movie and TV series will shift Anakin's knighthood from near the end of the Wars, to closer to their beginning. Because I would rather this story not be AU, I have therefore changed its position to six months after the Battle of Geonosis.

**Chapter Three.**

This has to be the truest form of déjà vu I have ever encountered. Anakin thought angrily as clung to the bike in an almost eerie recreation of his position earlier. The only difference was that this time, the stranger seemed to be without a thermal detonator. Thank the Force for small favors. Whoever this person was, his resolve was impressive, as he seemed adamant to create a hole in Anakin's head. Since the moment the Jedi had grasped the back of the vehicle, the anonymous warrior had never taken his finger off his weapon's trigger. Doesn't he realize I'm just gonna' send every bolt back at him? Anakin thought with annoyance. Upon further thought, Anakin was forced to admit to himself, Don't I realize the bolts will just keep coming? It was obvious that he wouldn't get anywhere by just waving his Lightsaber around. It was the weapon of a Jedi, but every member of the order was tremendously grateful that it wasn't the only one.

He reached out to every Jedi's ally, willing it to come to his aid….and the Force was happy to oblige. Had he been frustrated by the blasts a second ago? He seemed to remember being at least slightly aggravated, but it didn't seem likely now. The bolts were fast of course, but Anakin had just become _so much faster_.

There was one now. Effortlessly, the mystical field guided his blue blade toward the insignificant piece of red energy. The Lightsaber deflected it, as they always did, but this time Anakin had aimed.

The bolt slammed directly back into the barrel of the blaster, causing the WESTAR to explode from within. Blown back by his weapon's detonation, the armored stranger toppled from the speeder. As he rolled across the dirt of the tunnel, Anakin leaped into the driver's seat of his bike with ease.

The Force had done as Anakin commanded, and so he dismissed it. His senses began to behave normally once again. He jerked the controls to the right, making a U-turn that would have sent many crashing into the wall. He could easily run his opponent over, but that would leave him wondering who this man was, possibly forever. He couldn't have that.

Anakin stopped short as the bike reached the man. He had gotten to his feet, and now stood tensed, seemingly prepared to leap into action at the twitch of his adversary's finger. His gloved hand appeared to be grasping something at his side.

Anakin kept his droid arm near his now deactivated Lightsaber as he dismounted the bike. "You're not bad." He said with a nod toward the stranger. "But since now there's nothing stopping me from making eight pieces out of your hide, I would advise surrender."

The words had barely exited his mouth when the warrior drew a concealed blade from his armor. Its metal began to glow faintly, and Anakin recognized the weapon. _Cortosis Blade_. He thought grimly.

Anakin now realized that it would have been useless to try to flatten his opponent with his own vehicle. Not only would he have failed to do so, but it would have resulted in the loss of a perfectly good speeder bike.

Outlawed by the Republic, Cortosis Blades were little more than metal swords lined with energy beams, which enabled them to parry Lightsabers. They were occasionally carried by criminals, particularly haters of the Jedi. And the Separatists couldn't be expected to obey Republic laws any more than a Rancor could be expected to be a gentle, loving creature.

Well, this was slightly embarrassing.

The man came at him fast. Anakin's Lightsaber ignited swiftly, and the duel began. In the first ten seconds of it, they exchanged twenty blows.

The young Jedi couldn't help but admire his foe. Throughout the course of their battle, he had never seemed to tire, never weakened in his offense. Even now, with Anakin's undoubtedly greater experience in the field of hand-to-hand combat, he found it difficult to subdue him.

But the Jedi have advantages that others are not privileged with. If he could not defeat his adversary through the use of normal weaponry, it was time to start cheating. Anakin let a grin appear on his face. He liked this part.

He blocked a blow to the head, then surprised the nameless warrior by leaping over his head. Landing around ten feet away from the Separatist, he raised his palm toward the dirt ceiling of the tunnels. A portion of it came crumbling down, and Anakin got the reward of hearing a startled grunt issue from the man as collapsed under the rocks and earth.

Keeping his Jedi weapon activated, he calmly walked toward the defeated stranger. Gazing down at the helmet of rival, he nonchalantly sliced off at the neck. No longer able to hid his face, the man let it tumble to the ground.

It took a few moments for Anakin to notice anything interesting about the being. But as he took in his tanned face, his dark hair, his brown eyes, he noticed that, though he was older, he was still the same.

The same boy he had laughed with, the same boy he had bid goodbye to at the start of his new life. The same boy he had called his best friend since their first meeting, both as slaves on a barren world.

The man's eyes twinkled, and he smiled.

"Pretty wizard moves, Annie."


End file.
